Karl Anderson Recalls When AJ Styles First Joined WWE, Some In The Company Viewed Him As A ‘Mid-Level Intercontinental Guy’

Karl Anderson shares a story from when The Good Brothers and AJ Styles first joined WWE.

AJ Styles’ 10-year run with WWE came to an end at the 2026 Royal Rumble Premium Live Event, where he fell in defeat to GUNTHER. The stipulation was that if Styles lost, he would have to retire.

Styles’ longtime friend Karl Anderson joined Jonathan Coachman on Off The Ropes, and he recalled when he, Galllows and Styles first arrived at WWE. He heard ‘through the grapevine’ that some in WWE viewed The Good Brothers as utility guys and looked at Styles as a ‘mid-level Intercontinental Title’ type of talent.

“He’s not a full born and bred WWE guy. Maybe they look at it that way. I don’t know. I’ll tell you this though: This is true, fact. When we came in in 2016, I heard this about us, just through the grapevine, ‘You know, Gallows and Anderson are utility guys. We’ll use ‘em in that way,’ and say whatever you want about us. Nothing bothers me, and then they said, ‘And AJ Styles is a mid-level Intercontinental guy and we’ll leave him in that range.’ Now, I’d heard that was said about him. He ended up going in there and he won over Vince (McMahon), and they put the championship on him and they obviously could see what AJ Styles was. When the management changes, things change and you can see where AJ goes back down to where he is. I think everybody realizes that AJ Styles deserves to be up in that main event, Heavyweight Championship-caliber spot.”

On the lead-up to Styles’ match with GUNTHER, he specifically stated that his ‘WWE career’ would be over if he lost. After the Royal Rumble, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque shared that Styles told him that he was done in the ring.

On the 2/2 Monday Night Raw, GUNTHER mocked Styles by coming out to his entrance.

If the quote in this article is used, please credit Off The Ropes with an H/T to Fightful for the transcription.